


Cursed Snow Leopard

by manekinekoboi



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2016-05-30
Packaged: 2018-05-09 20:48:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5554817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manekinekoboi/pseuds/manekinekoboi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ennoshita and his family have been visiting to various places of the world every few years because his father was a filmmaker for animal documentaries. As a journalist and a filmmaker himself, he went to college to study film and was assigned to go to the Himalayan Mountains with a crew to create a mini documentary about snow leopards. With his closest partner Akaashi, their rowdy friends Bokuto and Kuroo, and the kid who got dragged into the madness by force Kenma, they all venture off into the wilderness due to one of Bokuto’s bad ideas. None of them were not expecting to find a strange creature lurking within the mountains of the Himalayas.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bad Ideas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I’m not sure if that is a good idea Bokuto-san.” Ennoshita hears Akaashi say to the loud man Bokuto outside the tent. This made him worry. Whenever Bokuto has an idea it’s always something dangerous.  
> “Oh come on Akaashi! It’s going to be fun! What’s the worst that can happen?” he shouts at him.  
> “Anything you come up with always gets us in trouble. I am not going.”  
> “You’re no fun Akaashi!” Bokuto whines and starts to go on his usual hissy fit. Akaashi face palms for a moment. After giving himself a small prayer to not kill the other guy he sighs.  
> “If we die because of this, we’ll all blame you in hell.”

Ennoshita waits in the airport with the rest of the film crew to go to Nepal. Sitting on an uncomfortable chair he watches the passengers bustling by to wherever they are going. He hears Bokuto and Kuroo hollering like children in a nearby name brand apparel store, while Kenma was on the floor playing around with his tablet and Akaashi sitting next to him who was reads his book.

“Why do they always have to be so loud? It’s an apparel store not an amusement park. They need to calm down.” he hears Akaashi mumble under his breath. Ennoshita laughs and shakes his head,

“The world is full of all kinds of people out there. We just happen to be stuck with the most obnoxious ones I guess.” He jokes. Kenma chuckles and Akaashi sighs again but cracks a faint smile this time. Ennoshita, Kenma, and Akaashi have been in film school together from day 1 of college. It was nice to see them working with Ennoshita on this animal documentary project.

“I wonder if we’ll ever see a snow leopard. I heard they are very difficult to find.” Ennoshita mentions changing the subject to the work on hand. Akaashi looks up from his book and answers,

“We won’t know till we get there. I’m sure we’ll see one. Speaking of which, we better get up and start gathering our things. I think it’s time to board.” As soon as Akaashi says this, an announcement was made to board on the flight to Nepal. Everyone gathered their belongings and lined up to ride the plane. Once that was done and everyone was seated, and Ennoshita used the rest of the flight to sleep.

When they made it to Nepal the first thought Ennoshita had was how cold it was. The winter of Sapporo was not as cold as the mountains of Nepal. The crew began setting up a few tents and fireplaces nearby to begin their jobs. Ennoshita was fixing a tent for the interns on the inside while Kenma was fixing it up from the outside. As usual he can hear the conversations between Bokuto, Akaashi, Kenma, and Kuroo outside of him. All four of the other guys knew each other since they were from the Tokyo area and he was from Miyagi, but Ennoshita didn’t mind.

“I’m not sure if that is a good idea Bokuto-san.” Ennoshita hears Akaashi say to the loud man Bokuto outside the tent. This made him worry. Whenever Bokuto has an idea it’s always something dangerous.

“Oh come on Akaashi! It’s going to be fun! What’s the worst that can happen?” he shouts at him.

“Anything you come up with always gets us in trouble. I am not going.”

“You’re no fun Akaashi!” Bokuto whines and starts to go on his usual hissy fit. Akaashi face palms for a moment. After giving himself a small prayer to not kill the other guy he sighs.

“If we die because of this, we’ll all blame you in hell.”

Ennoshita opens up the tent and walks outside to join the others, “What’s going on?”

Akaashi gives him a deadpan expression due to his friend’s madness and explains, “Bokuto-san thinks that we should slide this mountain. Basically, he wants all of us to live dangerously.”

“Well, that doesn’t sound dangerous at all!” Ennoshita answers sarcastically. Bokuto, who didn’t catch on the sarcasm, jumps from his log seat and exclaims,

“Right! It’s gonna be hella fun! Kuroo and I thought of this the moment that we got off the plane! We better do it soon!” Ennoshita and Akaashi groan. They just got off a long plane ride where in the hell do the other guys get their energy from?

Kenma comes from the corner and mentions, “We don’t have a sleigh to slide down this hill anyway so logically speaking we can’t eve-“ he was interrupted by Bokuto.

“Kuroo brought one with him and he’s making it right now as we speak. So yeah! We are so totally gonna ride down this hill whether you guys are down with it or not!”

“Oh that’s what that big bag was…great.”

“So much for trying to stay alive during this project.” Akaashi mumbles,

“What was that Akaashi?”

“I said we’re gonna have tons of fun Bokuto-san! Now please be quiet so that my headache from your screaming goes away.”

Whenever Akaashi lies like that Ennoshita knew that they had no choice. It was either deal with Bokuto’s childish antics, or go with his idea. In this case he knew that they were going to go with Bokuto’s idea. Ennoshita shrugs to himself while the rest of the group was under a lot of ruckus.

_Meh, maybe a little bit of fun won’t kill us right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that I completely messed up on the AO3 format. I got it fixed and will add a new chapter some time tonight. I hope you enjoy reading this story. :3


	2. The Sliders

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they reached the top of the hill Ennoshita had a better view of the mountains. The white blanket and fluffy clouds overhead gave him a stunning view. He takes a quick picture with his phone before hopping on the sleigh with the rest of his friends who were already sitting on the sleigh except for Bokuto, who was going to help push the sleigh.
> 
> “Alright is everyone on board?” Kuroo asks.
> 
> “Yes we’re all here Kuroo-san.” Akaashi answers for the team. He could feel Bokuto’s excitement behind him.
> 
> “Okay I’m gonna push this sleigh down the hill!” Bokuto pushes the sleigh and hops on the moment it started to move. The white snow slips the sleigh down the hill. Ennoshita could feel Kenma gripping on him, but it wasn't suffocating. The others were screaming with joy.  
> This was actually fun.

Kuroo shows up with a wooden sleigh on hand the moment Akaashi agreed to go with Bokuto's plan, “So when are we gonna ride down this hill?” he asks Bokuto.

"Let's do it later tonight. I think we gotta meet up with the others for a briefing and then we have some free time. Let's go then!"

"You got it bro." Kuroo puts down the sleigh next to the tent that they set up. The other staff members and students were still fixing up their tents and creating their fireplaces. Kenma glances at the sleigh,

"Where did you even get this Kuroo? We don't even live near hills back at home..."

"Oh well, my family sometimes visit our grandparents up north so I brought it back home in time for this trip. After all, not everyone in Japan can say they sleighed down the mountains of the Himalayan now can they?"

"You got a point there..." Kenma hates to admit it, but he did anyway. Kuroo gives his signature smirk and claps his hands together to get everyone's attention,

"Well it's settled then. After the meal break we'll go down a small hill. I found one not that from here. We'll be back after that ride in no time.”

Akaashi gives a skeptical look, “And where exactly is this “small” hill you speak of?” Ennoshita and Kenma look around the wide mountainous area surrounding them. It was true, there was no smaller hill on sight. Neither of them didn’t understand where Kuroo could possibly find one not far from the camp site.

“A little down that direction. I saw on the way up here during the bus ride to the camp site. It didn’t look too steep and with your strength, we can definitely go back to the camp before daylight.” He points at a direction where his footprints were found earlier. Akaashi sighs,

“I need to see this for myself before we decide on this for good. The last thing I need is for the staff to send us back to Japan and we get sent to jail because of this.” He walks away from the group, but close enough to where he can still the camp site. As he approached the camp site entrance sign he did see a smaller hill within a short distance from him. Kuroo was definitely not lying. Akaashi calls Ennoshita from his phone watch. Ennoshita answers his phone,

“Hello?”

“Kuroo is right. There is a smaller hill not that far from here, but we shouldn’t go too far. I noticed that the signal gets weaker the further we leave the camp. So it’s best to stick around nearby.” He tells Ennoshita. He nods his head,

“Got it thanks Akaashi.” he hangs up the phone, “Looks like you’re not wrong Kuroo.” Ennoshita tells the others. Kuroo smirks while Bokuto starts hollering with joy.

“Hell yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”

“We’ll meet up later in the evening then!” they all walk to the other members in the camp.

Later in the evening everyone gathers in front of the entrance sign. Kenma plays with an app on his phone while Akaashi and Ennoshita wait for the other two to come with their sleigh.

“I have a feeling this may not be a good idea…” they hear Kenma say as he concentrates on his game.

“I don’t have a good feeling either, but it was either this or deal with Bokuto-san’s childish antics. I will go for the latter.” Akaashi says as he looked back at his phone watch again, “Jeez they are getting here pretty late. Figures.”

Ennoshita looks at the smaller hill from the entrance. He didn’t know what to expect, but thank god he was not alone in this either. They all hear Kuroo and Bokuto running and screaming at them,

“Sorry we’re late! We had to pack a few things before we go. Just in case!” Bokuto says as he drops his bag on the sleigh.

“Alright it’s time to go!” Kuroo and the others pull on the sleigh to the hill. Kenma on the other hand, sat on the sleigh still playing his game, but no one fussed.

***************************

When they reached the top of the hill Ennoshita had a better view of the mountains. The white blanket and fluffy clouds overhead gave him a stunning view. He takes a quick picture with his phone before hopping on the sleigh with the rest of his friends who were already sitting on the sleigh except for Bokuto, who was going to help push the sleigh.

“Alright is everyone on board?” Kuroo asks.

“Yes we’re all here Kuroo-san.” Akaashi answers for the team. He could feel Bokuto’s excitement behind him.

“Okay I’m gonna push this sleigh down the hill!” Bokuto pushes the sleigh and hops on the moment it started to move. The white snow slips the sleigh down the hill. Ennoshita could feel Kenma gripping on him, but it wasn't suffocating. The others were screaming with joy.  
This was actually fun.

However, everyone's depth perception was off from what they originally thought. The hill started getting steeper and steeper. They completely passed the camp site entrance a while now. The fun began to turn into panic. All five guys were starting to feel the great pressure from the wind pushing against them. The sleigh was still sliding and Kuroo couldn't stop it.

“SHIT THIS IS IT! WE'RE GONNA DIE!” Kuroo suddenly screams as they slide further down the hill. Ennoshita didn’t see where they were going since his eyes were completely shut from the impact of the wind. He could feel Kenma holding on to his waist tightly. Neither of them could utter a word.

“I TOLD YOU THIS WAS NOT A GOOD IDEA!” Akaashi hollers on the way down. The hill was too steep and they were now too far from the rest of the film crew.

Bokuto, squeezing Akaashi tightly whines, “I’M SO SORRY GUYS! IT WAS SO NICE KNOWING YOU ALL!”

“SORRY ISN'T GONNA CUT IT! I'M SO GONNA GET YOU FOR THIS IN HELL!”

Ennoshita manages to open his eyes and sees something in front of them, “OH GOD KUROO STOP! WE’RE GONNA RUN INTO A TREE!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am having fun writing this chapter. More to come soon! :)


	3. The Leopard Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Who’s there?” Ennoshita shouts among the trees. All was quiet, but something was telling him that someone or something was watching him. This was a very uneasy feeling. It was getting darker now and the wind was howling louder.  
> Dear god if I die now I am in so much trouble… he thought as he carefully scrutinized the woods surrounding him. A deep gut feeling was telling him to run. Ennoshita picks up his pace and begins to run for his life. The moment he picks up the speed the louder the noise was heard behind him.  
> "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" he mumbles to himself. He is running into the depths of the unknown and something was chasing him. This night couldn't get any more worse.

His ears perk up from the screams that echoes through the wilderness. _Humans.._. It’s been a while since he heard the humans scream. Most of the time he hears laughter coming from the strange figures that walk in and out of these mountains were tourists and hikers. They were not bad. Screams on the other hand meant danger of possible hunters roaming around the woods or injured people.

He jumps from one of the evergreen trees, grabs his sharp ivory spear, and runs swiftly through the woods. A snow leopard that was napping beside that tree, hears his brother running and runs right beside him,

“Where are you going Fukunaga? Did something happen?” the leopard asks the boy.

Fukunaga jumps on the snow leopard, “I heard voices of humans screaming Nico. We must make sure there are no hunters in the area or injured humans!” he tells his brother, and he directs the leopard to where the voices were last heard.

********************

Ennoshita woke up and found himself lying in the white snow. Snowflakes were falling softly on his face. He sits up slowly and looks around his surroundings.  The other four guys were nowhere to be seen. _Where is everybody…?_ He thinks as he gradually stands up from the ground. Shivering from the cold, he takes his phone from his pocket to call for Akaashi, but there was no signal.

“I better start walking. Maybe I’ll be able to get something and call Akaashi then.” He spoke to himself as he trudges through the snow. Luckily his heavy jacket and snow pants were waterproof, but he still felt cold. The wind was lightly breezing through the mountains and the sky was getting darker. Ennoshita didn’t even know where he was going but was determined to find an area for signal.

Not that far from him, Fukunaga and Nico watched the figure walking aimlessly into the snow. “He looks very tired…” Nico mentions to Fukunaga, “I don’t think he’s a hunter.”

“I agree Nico. But we should still be very careful. He may have a smaller weapon in his smaller bags of that thing he’s wearing.” He spots a small object on the other man’s hand. He didn’t know what it was, but it was black and glowing. His instincts senses danger. “Wait right here Nico. I’m going to confront him!”

“Be careful Fukunaga. I’ll be right behind you if he attacks you!” Nico assures him. Fukunaga nods his head as a response and jumps down from the rocks overhead.

Ennoshita heard something rustling in the woods. He quickly turns his back around to find nothing behind him. I could’ve sworn I heard something…he thought to himself as he kept walking, but this time more cautiously. He heard the rustling noise again,

 “Who’s there?” Ennoshita shouts among the trees. All was quiet, but something was telling him that someone or something was watching him. This was a very uneasy feeling. It was getting darker now and the wind was howling louder.

 _Dear god if I die now I am in so much trouble…_ he thinks as he carefully scrutinizes the woods surrounding him. A deep gut feeling was telling him to run. Ennoshita picks up his pace and begins to run for his life. The moment he picks up the speed the louder the noise was heard behind him.

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" he mumbles to himself. He is running into the depths of the unknown and something was chasing him. This night couldn't get any more worse.

He trips on a thick root that he didn’t see ahead of time and falls to the rough and dirty ground. The noise was coming closer and closer. He tries to get up and run again, but pain struck right through his left ankle,

“Shit!” he screams. He couldn’t run anymore for his ankle was too hurt from getting caught on the roots. There was nowhere to hide either. He was stuck on the ground. He sees a dark figure flying overhead of him. Before he could see what was happening he blacked out completely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! My son Fukunaga finally shows up in this fic. lol  
> Anyway, thank you for reading into this fic.  
> As I said before, if you have any comments or suggestions regarding my writing please let me know!  
> All comments and constructive criticism is much appreciated! :)


	4. Befriending Strangers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The other snow leopard turns around and quickly stops Ennoshita from moving any further. The man froze when the figure in front of him held a sharp spear in the middle of his forehead. For a few moments all he could hear was the fire cracking in front of him. Ennoshita realizes that the animal he thought earlier was a human dressed in snow leopard fur, with the hood being part of a snow leopard’s face. The human didn’t say anything, but his eyes spoke to him with intimidation. A gulp was all Ennoshita could do. Who is this kid and why is he staring at me like that?

A warm atmosphere and the sound of fire wakes Ennoshita up in the midst of all that happened to him before. Somehow wrapped under a soft object, he focuses his view and sees that he was inside a cave. He turns his head and sees an animal sitting in front of the fire. _That fur pattern looks familiar_ … he tries to sit up but something was holding him down. He turns his head back to the animal, but also notices a tail in front of him. The tail had the same pattern as the other animal. _Wait how am I stuck…?_ He lifts his head up and sees the face of a snow leopard with its eyes shut. Fear crawls up his spine. _There is no way…_

The other snow leopard turns around and quickly stops Ennoshita from moving any further. The man froze when the figure in front of him held a sharp spear in the middle of his forehead. For a few moments all he could hear was the fire cracking in front of him. Ennoshita realizes that the animal he thought earlier was a human dressed in snow leopard fur, with the hood being part of a snow leopard’s face. The human was a tall dark haired, slender man with wide cat-like eyes and short eyebrows. He had three black stripes on each side of his cheeks almost resembling a real cat. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes spoke to him with intimidation. A gulp was all Ennoshita could do. _Who is this kid and why is he staring at me like that?_

“If I offended you, I’m sorry…I was lost and I didn’t know where I was…I promise I am not here to kill anything.” he manages to answer weakly. The leopard man still doesn’t say a word. His wide cat-like eyes and short eyebrows glares at other man for a few moments before he puts down his spear. He sits in front of Ennoshita this time and scrutinized his face. _He doesn’t look like a bad guy…_ Fukunaga thinks as he wakes up Nico.

“Nico thanks for holding him down. I think we’re safe.” He tells his feline brother. Nico carefully lets the man go and sits by Fukunaga. “Thanks for the help.”

“No problem.”

While they were, talking all Ennoshita heard was purring and meowing coming from both the leopard and the other man. They were talking to each other in their animal language. This amuses him. Fukunaga looks back at Ennoshita again with his piercing stare. Ennoshita didn’t know what his intentions were when the leopard man got up and walked towards him. He faces him again, but this time he is caring for his left ankle. Ennoshita noticed how red and swollen it was and every time the leopard man touched it he winced. Fukunaga and his brother noticed this and he takes off his fur coat to elevate Ennoshita’s leg.

“How did you…”

Before Ennoshita could say another word Fukunaga softly responds, “Human you must rest.” He says softly. That was the first time Ennoshita heard him say anything. _He knows Japanese?_

“Fukunaga is it safe for you to speak to this human?” Nico meows.

Fukunaga nods his head, “Yes Nico. He’s a harmless human, and he is hurt.” He turns back to the man on the ground and tends to his injured ankle. He grabs a stick and wraps it with some old clothing from his bag.

“Thank you…” Ennoshita looks up at the leopard man with gratitude. The man with the kind yet sleepy looking eyes was no longer tense Fukunaga noticed. He goes back to making the fire again. It was dark outside and the snow was falling heavier. “Who are you?” Ennoshita asks trying to figure out who the other Japanese human was. Fukunaga turns around and sees the curiosity of the man’s face. He doesn’t say a word and goes back to tending the fire.

Ennoshita sighs. This guy was difficult to have a conversation with. “My name is Ennoshita Chikara. I came here to film animals during my internship.” Fukunaga nods his head but still doesn’t reply.

Nico purrs, “He’s trying to talk to you. Why are you not replying to him?”

Fukunaga looks back at the other man again. He walks over to him and sits back down in front of him, “I am Fukunaga Shouhei.” He simply replies. Ennoshita noticed that he has a Japanese name too. What is a Japanese man dressed in snow leopard fur doing in the middle of the Himalayan mountains? He wants to ask so many questions, but before he could ask another question, Fukunaga walks back to the fire and walks to the other side. Ennoshita didn’t know what he was doing at first. Moments later, Fukunaga comes back with a small looking cup and hands it to him.

“Drink this tea and rest.” Fukunaga tells him. Ennoshita hesitates to take it at first, but accepts it because he didn’t want to be rude.

“Thank you again.” He says and drinks a sip of the tea. A warm, minty and flowery flavor touches his tongue. The tea was very delicious and he felt his body warm up. He no longer felt cold. When he was through he gives the cup back to Fukunaga who simply nods and goes back to the fire. Ennoshita watches the other man sit on the other side of the fire place and starts to yawn. It has been a very long day for him. Laying on the hard ground, he closes his eyes forgetting about that has happened to him today and drifts into sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter a day can keep the soul awake...  
> Updated this pretty late since I worked a 12-hour shift, but I am still alive!!!  
> Thank you for reading this far into the fic (I know I said that in the last notes, but seriously thanks for reading!).


	5. Rest the Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Is it okay if I can pet him?” Ennoshita asks. Fukunaga glances at Nico and nods his head. Ennoshita quickly realizes that he was a man of little to no words. Only speaking when he wants to get his point across. Somehow this amuses him as he pets the large animal besides him. Nico grins at Fukunaga,
> 
> “Fukunaga he gives the best pets ever! I like him already!” he purrs. Fukunaga laughs at his remarks. Ennoshita didn’t understand why he was laughing, but hearing him laugh somehow comforts him.
> 
> “Fukunaga-san if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?” Ennoshita attempts to ask again. The other man doesn’t say a word, only giving him a glance when asked the question. As much as he wants to tell him the answers he knew that would only put him and Nico in danger. He did not want Nico to be in danger.
> 
> “Next time.” He responds.

The next morning Ennoshita feels something cold and wet brush his face. When he opens his eyes, he sees the snow leopard licking him. This surprises him and he jumps away from the snow leopard only to remember that he was trapped in a cave and stuck with this animal in front of him.

“Oh god please don’t eat me! I’m sure I taste awful!” he screams. The leopard titles his head not understanding why the human was so scared of him.

“Nico, I told you to be careful with the human. He’s not used to your presence.” Fukunaga calls out. Nico turns around and nuzzles his head at his human brother. Fukunaga pets him gently. Ennoshita watches the man bond with his fellow animal friend. Fukunaga turns his attention towards Ennoshita, “You seem better.” He says to him with a warm smile on his face. Ennoshita felt his chest suddenly tighten up a bit. _Who would’ve thought a random Japanese man with black ink tattooed on his face wearing a snow leopard fur would be so…pretty?_

He quickly removes the thought in his head and smiles right back, “I did thank you. But I must go back to find my other friends. I wonder if they got lost like I did and the crew might be looking for me...” he tells him.

Fukunaga nods his head as a reply. He hands him a bowl of soup, “Eat.” He tells him. Ennoshita accepts the offer again. _Why is this guy being so nice to me when he tried to kill me last night?_ Ennoshita thought as he ate the soup. The soup was filled with random greens he has never seen before, with a hint of herbs and spices blended nicely together. He didn’t know what this soup was, but it was delicious. Nico walks up to him and nuzzles his head against Ennoshita’s body again. The leopard was friendly to his surprise.

“Is it okay if I can pet him?” Ennoshita asks. Fukunaga glances at Nico and nods his head. Ennoshita quickly realizes that he was a man of little to no words. Only speaking when he wants to get his point across. Somehow this amuses him as he pets the large animal besides him. Nico grins at Fukunaga,

“Fukunaga he gives the best pets ever! I like him already!” he purrs. Fukunaga laughs at his remarks. Ennoshita didn’t understand why he was laughing, but hearing him laugh somehow comforts him.

“Fukunaga-san if you don’t mind me asking, why are you here?” Ennoshita attempts to ask again. The other man doesn’t say a word, only giving him a glance when asked the question. As much as he wants to tell him the answers he knew that would only put him and Nico in danger. He did not want Nico to be in danger.

“Next time.” He responds.

Ennoshita nods his head, “Ah okay. If it’s something that can’t be shared then I understand. After all, we just met last night. Sorry for being rude with invasive questions.” He apologizes. Fukunaga shakes his head and smiles back, but says nothing more. For a man with no words Ennoshita could understand him just by hid body language alone. He finishes his soup and hands the empty bowl back to him. “Thank you for the soup it was really good.” He takes the bowl from Ennoshita and walks out from the cave,

“Watch him for me while I go clean out this bowl okay Nico? I’ll be back.” he tells him.

Nico purrs and nudges his head at Ennoshita, “You got it brother.” Fukunaga gives him a good rub on the head, hugs Nico, and walks away.

While he was away Ennoshita realizes that his phone and his left boot was missing. He checks all of his pockets, but they were all empty. Nico notices the panic look on his face and walks to the other side of the cave. Ennoshita didn’t even realize that the snow leopard disappeared since he was too busy trying to find his things. He stands up, forgetting his injury and walks around the cave. “Where did it go? I need it to contact my friends…” he mutters. Before long Nico comes out from the cave with a boot in his mouth. He sees the feline walking towards him and places the black boot in front of him. He manages to express a sigh of relief when he sees the phone intact inside the boot. “Thanks.” He pets Nico again. Nico meows as he nuzzles his head on Ennoshita’s foot.

“Oh I can walk again!” Ennoshita exclaims to Nico. Nico meows happily in return. He checks his phone and notices a blue light flashing in the upper left hand corner. He quickly unlocks his phone and sees that he has three missed calls and 15 text messages. As he was going through them Fukunaga comes back and sees the other man starting intensely on the ground while holding something on his ear. When he was through he turns back around and sees Fukuanga standing in front of him.

“Friends?” Fukunaga asked him.

Ennoshita nods his head, “Yeah. They’re really worried about me Fukunaga-san. I better go back before I worry the entire team.”

“Rest.” Fukunaga tells him. He didn’t understand why Ennoshita felt the need to rush. Although he saw him standing on his left leg and knew that it was healing thanks to the healing herbs of the mountains, he still didn’t want him to rush.

“Fukunaga-san I have to go. I didn’t come here alone. I came with a school and people who I’ve worked with for the past few years. If I disappear, I will get in trouble. We will all be in trouble. Can you help me find my way back to the camp?”

“No.” He says sternly.

“But-”

“No.”

Nico meows loudly to tell both of the humans to stop fighting. Ennoshita tries to protest, but seeing Fukunaga’s eyes tells him he needs to back down. After all, another snow leopard was on his side. They could possibly kill him if they wanted to. “Okay, but if I rest today will you help me tomorrow?” Ennoshita pleads. Fukunaga wasn’t trying to torture him, he just wanted this man to be fully healed before going back out in the cold mountains. However, after understanding Ennoshita’s point of view he agrees.

“Rest today. Go tomorrow.” He only replies. Ennoshita smiles,

“Thank you so much Fukunaga-san! You’re a great man!” he says with tears almost coming out of his eyes. This was the first time Fukunaga has seen such a beautiful person almost in tears. He turns his back from Ennoshita to try to hide his emotions and walks back to the cave.

“We’ll have to find his friends later tonight when he’s sleeping.” He tells Nico.

The feline purrs and sits next to him, “Okay, but we must be careful for they kill us.” He reminds him. Fukunaga agrees but says nothing more. All he knew was that Ennoshita going back to his friends meant he would be happy, and for some reason that’s what he wanted for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry Ennoshita will go back to the camp and meet up with the others.  
> Also if you are wondering, the others are okay. They'll be back shortly.


	6. Bitter Curse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Do you like this man?” he asks.
> 
> “Yes I do. He is a good man.” He answers.
> 
> Nico purrs and nuzzles his head against him. “I know you don’t want him to go, but it’s for the best. After all, he cannot discover the truth about you. Remember?” he knew what Nico was talking about, but he just didn’t want to admit it. He sighs and gently pets his brother on the head,
> 
> “I know I can’t put us in danger for a human. Let’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day since we’ll have to take him to the camp site.” He tells Nico and they both sleep on the opposite sides of Ennoshita to keep him warm. The other two slept peacefully together, but Fukunaga couldn’t sleep.

That night Fukunaga and Nico went outside to look for Ennoshita’s friends while he was asleep. The two of them walk deeper into the woods as the night wind howls among the trees.

Nico gives a concern look to his brother, “Why are we doing this for this man? Won’t you get in trouble?” he asks. This was the first time Nico has seen his fellow brother help a random human.

“He’s a good human. I can see it in his eyes and there’s something about him that won’t leave me alone. The sooner I find his friends and the place he belongs, the sooner this bothersome feeling will go away.” He answers. Nico didn’t understand what he was talking about, but he also remembers from talking to his half human brother that humans have some emotions that mammals like him do not have. Fukunaga stops walking. “Nico. I think I see something.” He whispers and both of them hide behind some large rocks. Not far from a camp site that he was all too familiar with, they see four figures walking around the area.

“Guys it’s getting late…I’m sure Ennoshita isn’t around here.” The shorter man with the two-colored hair says to the others.

A tall man with spikey grey hair groans. “God I hope he’s not dead. If he is, I won’t be able to live for the rest of my life.”

“In other words you’ll be dead too?” a pretty man with messy black hair responds.

“AKAASHI! Why you gotta be like that when our friend is possibly dead?!”

“He’s probably not dead Bokuto. Ennoshita is a smart guy. I’m sure he’s just hiding from us that bastard!” A man with an awful hairstyle told the others. They all began bickering with each other.

Fukunaga and Nico watch the four men walk away from them. Nico changed his attention back on Fukunaga and notices that he looked almost…sad.

“Those must be his friends.” he mentions to Fukunaga, but he only nodded his head.

“Ah…his friends…”

Nico jumps on Fukunaga’s lap and nuzzles his head against his face, “Well now that we found his friends we can help him go back to his home!” He cheerfully exclaims. Fukunaga pets him on the head and gave him a hug.

“Thank you Nico. You always know when to cheer me up. Now let’s go back to the cave before he wakes up.” The two make their way back to the cave to bring Ennoshita back to where he belongs. Although Fukunaga was happy that Ennoshita will finally be able to reunite with his other human friends something inside him didn’t want him to go, for he was a really nice human. He has not once judged him nor pressed him with more invasive questions. He was a kind and grateful soul. Most humans he encountered either avoided him or tried to kill him. Then again, only the locals from the other side of the mountains know about him and that he comes out every once in a while to watch the other animals from harm.

They enter the cave and see Ennoshita still sound asleep on the makeshift bed made of leaves and roots. He sits in front of the sleeping man. Seeing him breathe softly with his eyes closed and resting peacefully made him feel at ease. Nico lies next to Fukunaga,

“Do you like this man?” he asks.

“Yes I do. He is a good man.” He answers.

Nico purrs and nuzzles his head against him. “I know you don’t want him to go, but it’s for the best. After all, he cannot discover the truth about you. Remember?” he knew what Nico was talking about, but he just didn’t want to admit it. He sighs and gently pets his brother on the head,

“I know I can’t put us in danger for a human. Let’s sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day since we’ll have to take him to the camp site.” He tells Nico and they both sleep on the opposite sides of Ennoshita to keep him warm. The other two slept peacefully together, but Fukunaga couldn’t sleep.

He looks at the other man sleeping comfortably on the makeshift bed. He wants to tell him that he was cursed. His uncle was a hunter years ago and hunted hundreds of animals. Among them were snow leopards. When he was caught for killing these animals the local police put him in jail, but then an old wizard man among the locals came over and told him a curse will be cast on the oldest boy in the family. He will be isolated from all human contact. He will become an animal himself, and he will live for as long as he will until all the animals his uncle killed thrive again in the mountains.

That day Fukunaga was born. He was a healthy baby, but had unusual markings all over his back. The doctors and nurses couldn’t understand where those came from. According to his mother (the last time she spoke to him) he was a restless baby. Always moving, always playing, and was acting like an animal. They tried to raise him as a normal human boy, but no matter what they did it wouldn’t work. They didn’t know what was going on until the uncle called years later and explained everything. His parents were devastated. Their first and only son at the time was cursed all to his uncle’s stupidity. Fukunaga was five years old back then when he first saw his mother cry and his father slam heavily on the kitchen counter screaming on the telephone. They had to send him to the Himalayan Mountains. So they take him to Nepal and explained everything to him. Fukunaga was seven years old when his parents left him in the wilderness. He has been there ever since.

It was then he met Nico’s mother who saw the starving animal child and was compelled to take him as her own. She fed and taught the boy how to hunt, fight, and defend. She knew that he was only half snow leopard, but cared for him anyway. During his free time, he played with plants and herbs to create the best medicine for the animals. It was a trick he learned from his father who was a pharmacologist back in Japan. A year later Nico was born, and Fukunaga took care of both Nico and his mother. He was happy to see the two, but it made him miss home. His missed his parents, he missed his home, but he knew he couldn’t go back.

He was 13 when he first encountered a group of hunters trying to kill Nico. At 13 he fought them with the sharp spear he made for himself. It was then he learned that he was also a snow leopard and that he could not die. He was shot multiple times on the chest and the head, but fought the hunters. Later the locals would find them tied up tightly on trees and will send them to jail. The rumors spread like wildfire among the locals and even reports from outside the mountains. People have been trying to find him, others were trying to kill him. Before Nico’s mother passed, she told him to use her skin as a disguise. So he did. Ever since then no one has seen the boy of the mountains because he would blend in with the other snow leopards.

Fukunaga has yet to see the outside world and knew that he will never be able to go back, but being with Ennoshita gave him a glimpse of what the outside must be like. He was the first human who didn’t try to use him to gain something in return. He was always grateful for all he has done for him. He was the first human that he actually liked, but as much as he wanted to tell him all those things he couldn’t. For sake of safety for Nico and Ennoshita it was best to keep this knowledge about this curse shut. He takes his fur coat and covers it like a large blanket for the two of them and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR Y'ALL!!  
> sorry for the super slow update. I've been working again... ;A;  
> But yes, this was a really long chapter. I had to add the explanation somewhere and I figured it fit perfectly here.  
> Thank you for reading this far into the fic! :D


	7. Danger Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The next morning the three of them wake up, eat another meal of leafy soup, and walk out of the cave. This was the first time Ennoshita was able to walk without feeling any pain and seeing the sunlight outside of the cave. Fukunaga and Nico both walk in front him, since they marked the trail to the camp site many years ago with the sharp spear he still uses today. The markings on the trees were still visible after so many years. Ennoshita listens to the birds chirping and the wind blowing against the vast mountains. This was a very beautiful view.

A group of hunters from another country camp in the woods miles away from the cave. This was their tenth night in a row with no luck of finding any snow leopards,

“Damn, I’m getting really tired of this shit! I wish we could find one soon!” One of them name Miller complains. The other two men just glare at him. Miller has been complaining about this mission from day 1 and they were getting really sick of it just as much as they were getting sick of their canned chicken meat, crackers, and beef jerky meal.

“Shut up Miller. Snow leopards are not stupid. They know how to hide in these woods. It’s obvious we’re not gonna find any that quickly.” Another man name Lang responds. Miller rolls his eyes and chews on his meal. Although Lang was tired too he didn’t want to admit that in front of Miller.

“We still have a few more days till we call it quits guys. I’m sure we’ll find one in no time.” A man name Jaager tells them both trying to keep their spirits up. He is right after all.

“Well if we don’t find soon then I ain’t going back home!” Miller proclaims. The other men laughs at him. All was well for the three of them. They all went back to sleep in their tent ready to face the next day.

******************************

The next morning the three of them wake up, eat another meal of leafy soup, and walk out of the cave. This was the first time Ennoshita was able to walk without feeling any pain and seeing the sunlight outside of the cave. Fukunaga and Nico both walk in front him, since they marked the trail to the camp site many years ago with the sharp spear he still uses today. The markings on the trees were still visible after so many years. Ennoshita listens to the birds chirping and the wind blowing against the vast mountains. This was a very beautiful view.

Despite the nice view and the sunlight beaming above him, he shivers from the cold since he hasn’t been outside in a while and his body was still adjusting to the Nepal mountain weather. Fukunaga takes notice of this and takes off his leopard fur coat.

“Wear this.” He tells him as he puts on the coat for him. Ennoshita didn’t argue for the coat was much warmer than his electric blankets back in Japan and much softer. He watches Fukunaga’s long fingers place the coat together to fit him better. This was the first time anyone has gotten this close to him, but it didn’t bother him.

“Thank you.” He says once the coat was on him. Fukunaga nods his head and the three resume back to walking towards the camp site.

Not that far from them, the three hunters began their journey as well. Lang suddenly stops walking and holds his hand out to the others. “Shhh stop walking! I think I hear something!” he informs them. The other two men knew that Lang was a man of good hearing. The three of them hid behind a fallen tree trunk. Lang takes out his mini telescope and sees three figures walking towards their direction. Two looked like snow leopards and one was a human!

“There are snow leopards with a human!” Lang whispers loudly to the others. Miller grabs Lang’s telescope and takes a look for himself.

“You’re right there really are snow leopards there! But how the hell is that human walking besides them?” Miller asks them is disbelief.

“Some people must have real animal instincts or something, but that’s not the point. The point is to kill those snow leopards and sell their skin back home!” says Jaager. The three men begin to load up their rifles.

“It’s about damn time we find something in these mountains.” Miller mutters. Lang and Jaager ignore him and prepare themselves to fire at the three figures.

On the other side, Fukunaga and Nico stop walking.

“What’s wrong Fukunaga?” Ennoshita asks.

He places his finger to his mouth and does not answer. A low and fierce growl comes from Nico as well. Ennoshita didn’t know what was going on, but if the two of them respond like that then something dangerous was nearby them. “Don’t move.” He tells them.

“Someone is watching us.” Nico growls as they both observe the area for any subtle hint of danger.

“I heard something…like someone loading ammunition Ennoshita.” Fukunaga tells him. That was the longest sentence that ever came out of his mouth and of course it was not a good one.

“What? You mean there are-”

“Yes there are hunters around here, and they probably spotted us. We must stay low and be careful.” They begin to lower their presence almost to the point of crawling, walk cautiously making sure to find warning signs.

Miller accidentally slips on his side and steps on a branch. Fukunaga and Nico heard this and knew they have to run the other direction. Fukunaga suddenly pulls Ennoshita aside and pushes him on his shoulders. Before Ennoshita could ask what was happening, something strange happened to Fukunaga. His shoulder grew wider, his back became longer, and the shape of his hands and feet turned into hind legs and paws. The man morphed into a snow leopard himself. “Hold on tightly. We need to get out of here.” Fukunaga informs him. Ennoshita subconsciously grabs a hold of his fur and they all run with Nico leading the way.

Jaager pulls the trigger, “SHOOT ‘EM NOW!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM STILL ALIVE BUT MY INTERNET KEEPS SHUTTING OFF SO I UPLOADED THIS REAL LATE I AM SO SORRY!  
> I am almost done I swear! But thank you for reading this so far!


	8. Left Behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What do we do now?” Ennoshita asks Fukunaga as he wears the coat on himself properly. He does not say a word to him.
> 
> “Nico, I will go and fight them. You go take Ennoshita-san back to the camp site. You got it?”
> 
> Nico grabs Ennoshita by the sleeve of his coat, “Got it!” he meows.
> 
> “Ennoshita-san go with Nico. He will take you back to the camp site. I will take care of these hunters.”
> 
> “No! You can’t do that! I can’t leave you here with those guys! They have guns!” Ennoshita protests, but Fukunaga does not look back,
> 
> “I know, but I have fought many hunters before with their weapons. This spear will be enough.”
> 
> “I know you’ve been here long but they will kill you!” he protests again. Ennoshita didn’t want his friend to die especially since he is actually wearing a real snow leopard skin. His father once told him that hunters were the most dangerous humans for the extinct animal population. The last thing he wants to see is his friend’s death, “Fukunaga-san, please don’t go out there. I don’t want you to die.”  
> “I will be okay. Now go!”  
> “I can’t just leave you he-”  
> “JUST GO!”

Loud gun shots keep firing from behind them. Ennoshita tightly holds onto the leopard Fukunaga while making sure that the gun shots were not getting any louder. Everything was happening so fast that the adrenaline pumps throughout his body. He wasn’t an action junkie person on a normal day, but this was far from normal circumstances. They were all running for their lives. When they found a tree to hide behind Fukunaga returns to his human form. He puts Ennoshita back on the ground and takes off the fur coat from him.

“What do we do now?” Ennoshita asks Fukunaga as he wears the coat on himself properly. He does not say a word to him.

“Nico, I will go and fight them. You go take Ennoshita-san back to the camp site. You got it?”

Nico grabs Ennoshita by the sleeve of his coat, “Got it!” he meows.

“Ennoshita-san go with Nico. He will take you back to the camp site. I will take care of these hunters.”

“No! You can’t do that! I can’t leave you here with those guys! They have guns!” Ennoshita protests, but Fukunaga does not look back,

“I know, but I have fought many hunters before with their weapons. This spear will be enough.”

“I know you’ve been here long but they will kill you!” he protests again. Ennoshita didn’t want his friend to die especially since he is actually wearing a real snow leopard skin. His father once told him that hunters were the most dangerous humans for the extinct animal population. The last thing he wants to see is his friend’s death, “Fukunaga-san, please don’t go out there. I don’t want you to die.”

“I will be okay. Now go!”

“I can’t just leave you he-”

“JUST GO!” Fukunaga commands aggressively. Nico pulls Ennoshita away with a growl. He knew he had to go, but he did not Fukunaga to die in the hands of those hunters. Before he could protest anymore Nico threatens Ennoshita with a growl demanding him to run with him. He didn’t have a choice.

“Fukunaga-san…thank you for everything. I hope to see you again…I will miss you.” He says and runs with Nico.

Fukunaga still did not look back after those words. “I will miss you too.” He says to himself as he comes out from hiding and makes his way to face the hunters.

**********************

Nico and Ennoshita continue to run through the woods. When Nico notices that the man was falling behind, he stops and waits for him to catch up. Ennoshita was out of breath and he couldn’t catch up with the feline.

“Nico…I…can’t…run…anymore.” he manages to utter between breathes. Nico meows and nuzzles his head on his chest. Ennoshita hugs Nico tightly. “I’m sorry Nico…” he cries. The leopard didn’t know why he was crying, but comforts him with purrs and head nuzzles anyway since that's what comforted Fukunaga when he was a child. Ennoshita never thought someone he just met would be facing death so soon, especially getting killed by hunters. Nico keeps on meowing at him. Although the two couldn’t communicate the way Fukunaga could, Ennoshita tried his best,

“Will he be okay?” he asks Nico. Nico meows calmly as an answer and licks him on the face to wipe the tears off his face. He hugs him again as the tears just kept on washing on his face no matter how many times Nico tries to remove it. Although they just met two or three days ago Fukunaga played a huge role in his life during this trip. If it wasn’t for him, he would probably still be lost in the woods, or worse...dead himself. He finally lets the tears stop and stands back up, “I cannot cry about this anymore. I must go back and tell my crew that there are hunters here. We will take care of this!” he says to Nico. The feline meows back with just as much strength. The two of them began their journey once again. Ennoshita was determined to go back to not only begin his filming, but also be able to help report the hunters that were among the mountains with them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY THAT THIS IS UPDATED SO LATE!!! School started and I haven't had the time to work on this. I hope you're still liking this story! ;u;  
> Thank you for your patience.


	9. The Run Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “OH MY GOD! ENNOSHITA IS ALIVE! THANK YOU OH GREAT GOD FOR ANSWERING ALL THE PRAYERS!” he cries gripping on to Ennoshita so tightly he thought he was going to burst,  
> “Yes…Bokuto…san…I am…alive, but I can’t breathe…” he wheezes,  
> “Oh sorry!” Bokuto lets go of his friend who gasps for the cold air. Kenma quickly comes by with a cup in his hands, “Here’s some tea to warm you up. You look like you’ve been through a lot.”  
> Ennoshita gratefully takes a sip of the warm tea. Somehow it almost tastes like the herb soup that Fukunaga made him before, but it was not as good as that, “Thank you Kenma. You have no idea! I would tell you more, but for now I have to save my friend!” right when he mentions this, a van pulls over in front of them and Kuroo rolls down the window from the driver’s side,  
> “Alright, she’s ready to go! Hop in everyone!” Ennoshita takes shotgun, while Akaashi, Kenma, Bokuto, and a few other members hope in the back. Once all the doors were closed Kuroo drives through the woods. With Ennoshita leading the way, he prays to himself that Fukunaga and Nico were still alive. God please keep them alive! I want to save them! He prays over and over.

Ennoshita finally sees the entrance sign of the camp site. Before entering, he turns and sees Nico who stopped running besides him. He was just a few feet away from him, but he runs back to the feline. He pets him on the head and gives him a hug,

“Thank you Nico. I greatly appreciate your help. If Fukunaga-san is still alive, tell him I said thank you and that I hope to see him soon, okay?” Nico answers with a comforting meow. He nuzzles Ennoshita one last time before turning around to walk back into the woods. Ennoshita watches the cat disappear slowly as it blended well with the rocks around it.

A few people were already standing nearby. One of them shouts, “I SEE HIM! HE’S COMING THIS WAY!” Ennoshita knew that was one of the other film members. He tries to run, but his legs already weak from running beforehand, made him fall into the snow. He hears two people rush to aide him back up from the ground. He knew one of them was Akaashi,

“Thank god you’re alive! We thought you were dead!” He says to him. Ennoshita gives his fellow friend a weak smile,

“We have to go back…” he tells him,

“Go back where?”

“The woods! The hunters! They are there! They killed my friend and are about to kill another snow leopard! We have to find them!”

Akaashi looks over at the other member and nods his head. Ennoshita was not the type to make things up on the spot. Bizarre things have happened to him before. Akaashi lost count of the many times Bokuto has put them all in near-death situations and somehow Ennoshita has the luck to make it out alive through all of them. This was no exception.

“Tell Watanabe sensei that we need to get the films ready. We need to help his friends.” Akaashi tells the other member. The other man nods his head and runs back to the camp site. “We’ll get them for you Ennoshita. Just lead us the way when you’re ready.”

“Thank you Akaashi-san.” He found himself getting tackle hugged by no other than Bokuto himself,

“OH MY GOD! ENNOSHITA IS ALIVE! THANK YOU OH GREAT GOD FOR ANSWERING ALL THE PRAYERS!” he cries gripping on to Ennoshita so tightly he thought he was going to burst,

“Yes…Bokuto…san…I am…alive, but I can’t breathe…” he wheezes,

“Oh sorry!” Bokuto lets go of his friend who gasps for the cold air. Kenma quickly comes by with a cup in his hands, “Here’s some tea to warm you up. You look like you’ve been through a lot.”

Ennoshita gratefully takes a sip of the warm tea. Somehow it almost tastes like the herb soup that Fukunaga made him before, but it was not as good as that, “Thank you Kenma. You have no idea! I would tell you more, but for now I have to save my friend!” right when he mentions this, a van pulls over in front of them and Kuroo rolls down the window from the driver’s side,

“Alright, she’s ready to go! Hop in everyone!” Ennoshita takes shotgun, while Akaashi, Kenma, Bokuto, and a few other members hope in the back. Once all the doors were closed Kuroo drives through the woods. With Ennoshita leading the way, he prays to himself that Fukunaga and Nico were still alive. _God please keep them alive! I want to save them_! He prays over and over. The road nears the end. Ennoshita tells Kuroo to park on the side and let them out.

“Some people need to stay behind to watch the van, but Ennoshita, Akaashi, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Kenma can go with some walkies since there’s terrible signal here. The rest of you need to stay here. Call us for back up if you need it.” Says the staff leader. The guys get out of the car, film gear in place, and quickly rush into the woods. Bokuto hoots wildly as they enter,

“Aww man! We get to see some fight in action!” Ennoshita didn’t want anyone to fight. Not with a man and a snow leopard against three (or possibly more) guns. He still prays that they were not dead. These woods were meant to be a home for the animals. They should not have to get killed by humans. Fukunaga was among the animals despite being a human himself. The run into the woods felt like miles.

“Do you know where we’re going?” Akaashi questions him.

“I know where I am going. I am following all the markings we’ve placed before we left!” Ennoshita answers. _We? Since when was there another person with him?_ Akaashi wonders, but doesn’t say a word since he notices the markings Ennoshita was talking about. All the trees they passed by were almost cut in half to the core. Whatever he used it was a very sharp object to cut a tree like that. Ennoshita gradually slows his running when he notices the markings gradually disappearing. He stops in an open and vast area surrounded by nothing but trees only, with the others behind him.

“Where are we?” Kenma asks as he and the others look around.

“I don’t know…but from the atmosphere I’m feeling it doesn’t feel good…” Akaashi answers. Suddenly they hear gun shots and screams of humans into the distance.

“What was that?” Bokuto quakes. They all look towards the noise and run into that part of the woods. Ennoshita frantically pushes through all the twigs and bushes that him back. The screams were getting louder, but the gun shots were no longer heard. They all stop and wait a few feet away from the noise. The screams were no longer heard as Ennoshita peeks through the twigs in front of him. _Oh no…please don’t let Fukunaga-san or Nico be dead…_ before Ennoshita could utter a word Akaashi peeks with him and gasps.

“What? What happened Akaashi??” Bokuto whispers somewhat too loudly, but Akaashi doesn’t quiet him.

“Bokuto-san do you have your walkie on you?” he asks.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Because we need to call back up! We see blood! Someone or something has been killed! It needs to be reported now!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO LATE TO UPDATE!!  
> I had this chapter written in my word document for a while, I just didn't update it on here.  
> Anyway, it's spring break now for the next few days, so more updates will be coming soon. :)


	10. Legend of the Cursed Snow Leopard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Come on Ennoshita…we have to leave.” Akaashi urges him, but he does not move.
> 
> “FUKUNAGA! NICO!” he screams and tries to move, but Bokuto and Kuroo grab him from the sides and drag him out of the scene.
> 
> “We have to go!” Kuroo grumbles as he and Bokuto grab onto the squirming kid.
> 
> “But… my friends…I want to know if they are alive!” he pleads, but they ignore him. There was nothing they could say. Whoever these friends were, there was a large possibility that they were all dead, but no one had the heart to slap the reality to him. Besides, it was only a possibility. The world becomes darker as Ennoshita focuses on the bloody rope that was taken by one of the local investigators before he leaves the scene.

Ennoshita sees the blood and bloody bullets scattered around the ground, but there was no one in sight. They all jump out from hiding to investigate the scene.

“This is not what I was hoping to see.” Kenma mumbles to himself as he takes photos of the scene. Ennoshita scans around to see any sign of human or animal life anywhere. He notices a trail of blood going through some random set of trees. He quickly follows the trail,

“Ennoshita! Where are you going?” Akaashi runs with him with the rest following behind. Ennoshita did not answer him for he pray that this trail of blood was not from Nico or Fukunaga. He pushes himself through the never ending branches that were hindering him to run faster. He suddenly stops when he sees three men tried up to a tree. It was the three men he ran into earlier that tried to kill them.

“Back up is on its way right now.” He hears Kuroo scream as more people show up to the scene. Some of them were local police from the area as everyone else gather around to make sure the scene was safe. The three men were alive, but they had blood stains all over their clothes. The ropes that tied them was also splattered with blood. Investigators show up and urges everyone to remove themselves from the scene. Everything around him was happening so fast, but all Ennoshita could see was the blood.

“Come on Ennoshita…we have to leave.” Akaashi urges him, but he does not move.

“FUKUNAGA! NICO!” he screams and tries to move, but Bokuto and Kuroo grab him from the sides and drag him out of the scene.

“We have to go!” Kuroo grumbles as he and Bokuto grab onto the squirming kid.

“But… my friends…I want to know if they are alive!” he pleads, but they ignore him. There was nothing they could say. Whoever these friends were, there was a large possibility that they were all dead, but no one had the heart to slap the reality to him. Besides, it was only a possibility. The world becomes darker as Ennoshita focuses on the bloody rope that was taken by one of the local investigators before he leaves the scene.

********************

Back at the camp site, Ennoshita stays in his tent his with his knees to chest and his arm wrapped around his legs. Akaashi enters the tent and hands him tea,

“The local police wants to thank us for helping them capture those criminals.” He says to him as Ennoshita looks back down at his feet. Akaashi places the tea next to him and sits by his side, “They say they don’t know exactly who tied them to the tree, but they said they may have an idea….have you heard of the cursed snow leopard before Ennoshita?”

Ennoshita’s head perks up, “Cursed snow leopard?”

Akaashi nods his head, “Apparently there’s a rumor among the locals that there is a cursed child roaming around the mountains. The story goes that he had a family member who killed the animals of the mountains for fun and an old wizard from the area cursed the first son in the family. The boy has been wandering around ever since, but no one has spotted him in person.”

“That’s sad.” Ennoshita answers.

“It is, but this is where it gets interesting. The boy never shows himself to anyone. Despite being cursed and being forced to be abandoned by his parents he protects the animals of the mountains by trapping the hunters and tying them to trees. It seems like he has done this for years, yet no one has ever seen him. Some people claim to see him, but they never carry any evidence.”

“Very sneaky guy.” Ennoshita comments again. Then it hits him.

Was Fukunaga the cursed snow leopard child Akaashi was talking about? Was that the reason why he was able to morph himself into an animal when they were running away from the hunters? Was that why he was able to survive all those fights all this time? So many questions pop out of his mind. He turns to look at his friend. Before he could say another word Akaashi pats him on the shoulders,

“I was wondering if that’s the person you met while you were in the woods. Most of the people who made such claims usually survived the cold weather when they could’ve died, but they survived. No one really knows why but I know for a fact that the locals in the area sees him as a hero despite the reason why he’s trapped in the mountains.” He stands up and leaves the tent, “I’m not sure if you’ll see him again, but I’m glad to see that you’re now safe. See you later Ennoshita.” He walks back outside leaving Ennoshita in the tent alone again. The tea cooled off but he takes a sip of it anyway.

I have to go back and find him… he thinks to himself before leaving the tent and the tea behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two updates in one day because I can. :)  
> I hope y'all are enjoying this fic.  
> Please comment if there is anything I need to improve on.  
> Thank you.


	11. Come Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You’re alive!” Ennoshita cries and places his head on Fukunaga’s shoulder. Fukunaga who was taken aback sees the man he saved crying. Fukunaga was not familiar with this emotion so he didn’t know what to do. He slowly moves Ennoshita’s face away from his shoulder and makes him face him. Ennoshita was still crying, “Fukunaga, I am so sorry. I was so worried and scared and I am happy to see you al-” before he could finish his sentence Fukunaga nuzzles his head against Ennoshita’s cheek. Afterwards he looks back at his friend and wipes his tears with his knuckles. He didn’t say anything, but gives him a faint smile instead. Ennoshita stops crying and smiles back. Fukunaga nuzzles his head against Ennoshita’s cheek and places his forehead on his left shoulder. Nico meows and nuzzles Ennoshita too as he lays his head on Ennoshita’s thigh. The two of them were too weak to move anymore.

Fukunaga and Nico were back in the cave. Nico watches Fukunaga place some herbs on his upper left arm where he was shot by one of the hunters. The bleeding wasn’t as terrible as they have both expected, but this was no surprise to them. Putting pressure on the wound site, he sits by the fireplace and stares at it solemnly. Nico walks towards him and meows,

“What’s wrong Fukunaga?” he asks.

Fukunaga looks back at his brother and sighs, “I don’t know Nico. For some reason I really miss Ennoshita.” He answers honestly to the cat. Nico rubs his face against his right shoulder,

“He’s safe though. I made sure that he was back at the camp site with the rest of his people.” He assures him.

Fukunaga pets the kitten’s head and smiles, “Thanks Nico for protecting him.” He says as Nico lays his head on his lap. The two stare back at the fire as it dances and crackles throughout the cave. Fukunaga lets go of the herbs that he placed on his left arm earlier and tosses them into the fire. The bleeding stopped a while ago, but he still kept the herbs on the wound. He wraps himself comfortably in his snow leopard skin from his mother, he crawls besides Nico as the fire continues to dance within the cave. As he stares at the fire, he thinks about his new friend Ennoshita. It made him sad that after this day, he will not see him ever again. As he slowly drifts into sleep to think of the kind human, he suddenly hears rustling noises not far behind them. He snatches his spear as Nico’s ears also perks up from the noise. Both stand on guard, they put themselves in position to attack despite being injured. Fukunaga grips onto his spear tightly ready to kill the attacker at any moment. As the rustling noises become louder they also hear a familiar voice,

“FUKUNAGA! NICO!”

Both knew that familiar voice, but remain still inside the cave. Part of Fukunaga wonder if the voice was really Ennoshita’s but the other part of him knew to watch out for traps. If the person comes into the cave, he will kill him if he was a threat to their safety. The footsteps become louder and closer, but they both remain quiet. Soon they see a shadow enter the cave and the person stops shouting. The footsteps slow down and they see it who the shadow was. It was Ennoshita! The two brothers couldn’t believe it, but they still remain on guard.

Ennoshita sees them and smiles, “Fukunaga…Nico…I knew you would be here.” He comes closer, but Fukunaga places the spear in front of him. This makes Ennoshita jump back in fear, “Fukunaga it’s me! Ennoshita! I saw the blood on the ground and I was worried that you got hurt so I came to-” While Ennoshita was trying to explain himself, Fukunaga and Nico hear subtle rustling from behind him. From the sound of the faint and slow steps, this was the real threat coming from behind and Fukunaga knew it. Fukunaga pounces at Ennoshita and covers him while arrows appear from outside the cave. Nico runs outside to protect Fukunaga and Ennoshita. In the distance Ennoshita hear roars and shouts before the screaming subsides. Ennoshita froze in fear not knowing what exactly happened. Before he could even think Fukunaga threw him to ground and he was covered in blood.

Ennoshita looks up to see a man with arrows stuck on his back, “FUKUNAGA!” he screams as he finally came to grip with reality in front of him. He looks up and sees Nico covered in blood and arrows as well walking slowly towards him and Fukunaga. “NICO!” the snow leopard looks at Ennoshita for a moment and meows at him. Although Nico had a few arrows stuck to him too, they didn’t seem to impact him as much as they impacted Fukunaga. Nico nuzzles his face towards Fukunaga’s face and meows again. “Fukunaga, please…please wake up!” Ennoshita begs but the man was still unresponsive. Ennoshita looks back at Nico who also had a solemn look on his face. Nico licks Fukunaga’s face a few times. Ennoshita didn’t know what Nico was trying to do, but he hoped it would wake his friend up, “Fukunaga I am so sorry…I am so sorry!” he cries to himself as he stares at his unresponsive friend. A few licks and head nuzzles later, Fukunaga slowly moves his body and opens his eyes. He looks up to see Ennoshita, unharmed and unscratched from the damage behind him. Fukunaga slowly rises up, but Ennoshita stops him,

“You’re alive!” Ennoshita cries and places his head on Fukunaga’s shoulder. Fukunaga who was taken aback sees the man he saved crying. Fukunaga was not familiar with this emotion so he didn’t know what to do. He slowly moves Ennoshita’s face away from his shoulder and makes him face him. Ennoshita was still crying, “Fukunaga, I am so sorry. I was so worried and scared and I am happy to see you al-” before he could finish his sentence Fukunaga nuzzles his head against Ennoshita’s cheek. Afterwards he looks back at his friend and wipes his tears with his knuckles. He didn’t say anything, but gives him a faint smile instead. Ennoshita stops crying and smiles back. Fukunaga nuzzles his head against Ennoshita’s cheek and places his forehead on his left shoulder. Nico meows and nuzzles Ennoshita too as he lays his head on Ennoshita’s thigh. The two of them were too weak to move anymore.

“Thank you for coming Ennoshita.” He hears Fukunaga mumble to him. Ennoshita places his hand on Fukunaga’s head and taps his head against his.

“No, thank you for saving my life…again.” He tells him. Fukunaga looks at his friend from his shoulder and smiles again. His cat-like eyes glowed as the tears form on his eyes. “Fukunaga, why are you crying? Are you okay?” Fukunaga nods his head and slowly closes his eyes and tells him,

“Thank you Ennoshita for coming again.” Suddenly his body became dead-weight and Ennoshita had to hold him to prevent him from falling. He looks down at Nico, who was also dead-weight with eyes closed.

“No…NO!” Ennoshita cries, “FUKUNAGA! NICO! NOOO!!” tears spill from his eyes again as he sees his two friends resting quietly on him. Ennoshita was so upset that he didn’t see the local police and his friends enter the cave. The events leading up to where he was happened so quickly that he didn't know how to react. Ennoshita was pulled away from Fukunaga and Nico as they were receiving medical treatment from the local medical team. The last thing he saw was Fukunaga’s smiling face before he was taken away into a different vehicle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nursing school is over and I need to study for my NCLEX, but writing this story was more fun. All the remaining chapters will be uploaded shortly!   
> Thank you for being very patient!!


	12. Second Chances

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Ennoshita! You were given a second chance to live. Why don’t you use this chance to live your life to the fullest?” everyone turns to look at Bokuto. 
> 
> Akaashi sighs knowing what was up ahead, “Here it comes…”
> 
> “If you’re going to mope around like that then don’t even think about that guy who saved you. He gave you a second chance to start over for a reason. Okay, maybe not literally, but you know what I mean! You should try to live each day thanking him in the distance. If he was here right now watching all down in the dumps like this you think he would be proud of you?”
> 
> “Wow. Bokuto-san you have some good points to tell people sometimes.” Akaashi tells him. Bokuto turns around with an evil glare on his eyes,
> 
> “Akaashi! Why you gotta keep putting me down like that??! I can say some good things too you know!” the rest of the group laughs as the petty bickering from Bokuto and Akaashi begins again.

Ennoshita wakes up to bright lights on the white tiled ceiling. He looks around at his surroundings and sees Akaashi and Kenma sitting next to him.

“You’re finally awake. Those sedatives really knocked you out for a while there.” Akaashi tells me as Ennoshita keeps looking around the room,

“Where am I?” he asks groggily. 

Kenma looks up from his game and answers, “You’re in the local hospital. We had to have an EMT come and take you here about a day or two ago.”  
When Ennoshita finally understood what was going on, he realizes that he was no longer in the wilderness.

“Fukunaga! Nico!” he tries to jump up from the bed, but Akaashi and Kenma stop him.

“You’re on IV fluids running right now. If you jump off from this bed, you’ll rip your IV out.” Akaashi tells him sternly. Ennoshita, feeling the pain of the IV on his forearm, calms down and lies back in bed. The energy he had earlier was no longer in his system. He looks back out the window and see the snow white, mountains. Once he assesses that Ennoshita was safe Akaashi speaks, “If you’re talking about the snow leopard and his friend, they’re in good condition. They have both disappeared into the wilderness a while back.”

“They left already?” Ennoshita asks him. Akaashi and Kenma nod their heads. Kenma hands Ennoshita a fang necklace to him,

“This was found on your bed earlier today. The nurse told us that Fukunaga person wanted to give this to you, but he didn’t want to enter the room to wake you up.” Ennoshita takes the necklace and sees the white fang shining from the sunlight outside. He slowly sits back up and sighs,

“I never go to thank him for saving me again.” Ennoshita mumbles. Akaashi and Kenma look at each other, but before either of them could say a word, the door behind them opens and in comes Bokuto and Kuroo,

“Is he finally awake?” Kuroo asks Kenma. Kenma simply nods his head and Bokuto runs to the foot of the bed to see Ennoshita,

“Oh my god you’re alive! Man they’ve seriously doped you up for a good while there! Good to see you alive man!” he exclaims. Everyone else laughs, but Ennoshita could only manage to give Bokuto a weak smile,

“Sorry for worrying you Bokuto-san, and sorry for worrying you all as well. I’ll apologize to the team when we get back to the camp.” He tells everyone. The laughter slowly dies,  
which made him worry, “What? Did I say something wrong?”

The others give each other uncomfortable glances. Kuroo finally give an answer to Ennoshita, “The lead instructor decided to cancel this project and we are going back to Japan about two days from now. Tomorrow we are packing everything.”

“Due to the uneventful experiences we’ve been having, they all decided last night to cancel it. So once you’re discharged all of your things will be packed up and ready to go.” Akaashi tells Ennoshita. 

Ennoshita just glances at the rest of his friends and slowly nods his head, “Ah, I see. I guess everyone had a rough time because I got lost in the wilderness. I’m sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize. It’s not your fault that we ran into hunters a few times these past few days. The locals were just glad that we were able to stop a few aggressive ones before any of us got killed. We’re glad that you made it out alive despite everything that happened to you in the past few days.” Akaashi assures him. The rest nod their heads in agreement. Ennoshita slowly looks back at the window.

“Yeah I’m surprised to be alive too. But if it wasn’t for him maybe I wouldn’t be here either.” He tells his friends. They all knew who he was referring too, but none of them said a word. Silence fills the atmosphere for a few moments until Bokuto shouts,

“Ennoshita! You were given a second chance to live. Why don’t you use this chance to live your life to the fullest?” everyone turns to look at Bokuto. 

Akaashi sighs knowing what was up ahead, “Here it comes…”

“If you’re going to mope around like that then don’t even think about that guy who saved you. He gave you a second chance to start over for a reason. Okay, maybe not literally, but you know what I mean! You should try to live each day thanking him in the distance. If he was here right now watching all down in the dumps like this you think he would be proud of you?” 

“Wow. Bokuto-san you have some good points to tell people sometimes.” Akaashi tells him. Bokuto turns around with an evil glare on his eyes,

“Akaashi! Why you gotta keep putting me down like that??! I can say some good things too you know!” the rest of the group laughs as the petty bickering from Bokuto and Akaashi begins again. After a while, Ennoshita looks back at the window and nods his head, “You’re right Bokuto-san. He would definitely not be proud of me if I start getting depressed now. I should rest and get better before we have to leave to Japan. Thanks for sticking with me guys and dealing with the crazy antics.”

Kuroo laughs, “No need to thank us. We’re just glad you’re back and safe. We better get going too so you can rest. Let’s go guys. I’m sure they’re waiting on us.”  
“Okay. We’ll be back tomorrow to help with the discharge stuff. Get some sleep now you need it.” 

Akaashi pats him on the shoulder, as Kenma says goodbye, and Bokuto salutes him. As the four leave and fight Ennoshita watches the window again. The world outside was getting darker as the sun begins to set behind the mountains. Though he would no longer see Fukunaga and Nico again he was just glad that they left something behind for him. Ennoshita knew even without the necklace he would not forget Fukunaga and Nico. He carefully examines the fang necklace and puts it on his neck before heading back to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know the last chapter sounded hella angst, but I promise it gets better.  
> Please let me know if I need to improve. I am always open to constructive criticism.


	13. Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I am here Ennoshita. I will always be here, but you…you will go back to where you belong soon.” He says solemnly as he places his forehead back on Ennoshita’s shoulder. “Please do not forget me Ennoshita.” He whimpers.
> 
> Ennoshita places his head against Fukunaga’s head, “I won’t forget you. Not after all that you’ve done to save my life more than once. I wish you could come back with me, but I know your situation.” He tells his friend. Fukunaga nods his head again,
> 
> “Will we be able to see each other someday?” he asks Ennoshita.
> 
> Ennoshita nods his head, “We will definitely see each other again someday. If you can’t leave this forest, then I can always come back to see you.” He assures Fukunaga.
> 
> “Promise?” Fukunaga asks. Ennoshita puts out his pinky finger and faces it in front of Fukunaga,
> 
> “I promise.” The two place their pinkies together to bind that promise. That was one of the few things Fukunaga remembered from his short childhood. Fukunaga was happy to hear that his friend made a promise to see him again someday. Though neither of them knew when they would see each other again, just knowing that a promise was made was enough for him.

Fukunaga runs out of the wilderness and dashes quietly into the local village. Most people were asleep so no one heard him running through the streets. He finally stops at the hospital where he stayed earlier in the day. He had to go back to the hospital to see Ennoshita before he goes back to Japan. Fukunaga quietly climbs on one of the nearest tree branches and throws a twig at Ennoshita’s window. Being awakened by the light tapping noise coming from the window, Ennoshita peaks through the curtains. He sees a pair of golden cat eyes facing him. As soon as he recognized who it was, he opens the curtains and the window.

“Fukunaga! What are you doing here?” he loudly whispers. Fukunaga swiftly jumps from the tree branch to the window all without making a sound. He climbs down from the window, closes it, and sits in front of Ennoshita. He notices that all of Fukunaga’s wounds were fully healed though he had no idea how that happened. Fukunaga comes closer to Ennoshita and nuzzles his head against his cheek. Ennoshita pets his head, reminding himself that Fukunaga is used to living like a wild cat his whole life. The two of them sit quietly together for a while, Fukunaga’s head resting lightly on Ennoshita’s shoulders. 

“I’m happy to see you again Fukunaga.” Ennoshita tells his friend. Fukunaga picks his head back up and smiles,

“I’m happy to see you too.” He finally says and nuzzles his head on Ennoshita’s arm before placing his forehead back on his shoulder. 

Suddenly Ennoshita hugs Fukunaga tightly, forgetting about the IV on his arm, and sobs, “I’m glad that you’re alive! I was so scared that you died that day, and I would never see you again!” he cries to him. Fukunaga felt the tears drip down on his bare shoulder and hugs Ennoshita back. After so many years alone with the humans hating him, he never had this close of a connection with another human. Fukunaga slowly lets himself go from his grip. He wipes off his tears again with his knuckles and nuzzles on Ennoshita’s chest.

“I am here Ennoshita. I will always be here, but you…you will go back to where you belong soon.” He says solemnly as he places his forehead back on Ennoshita’s shoulder. “Please do not forget me Ennoshita.” He whimpers.

Ennoshita places his head against Fukunaga’s head, “I won’t forget you. Not after all that you’ve done to save my life more than once. I wish you could come back with me, but I know your situation.” He tells his friend. Fukunaga nods his head again,

“Will we be able to see each other someday?” he asks Ennoshita.

Ennoshita nods his head, “We will definitely see each other again someday. If you can’t leave this forest, then I can always come back to see you.” He assures Fukunaga.

“Promise?” Fukunaga asks. Ennoshita puts out his pinky finger and faces it in front of Fukunaga,

“I promise.” The two place their pinkies together to bind that promise. That was one of the few things Fukunaga remembered from his short childhood. Fukunaga was happy to hear that his friend made a promise to see him again someday. Though neither of them knew when they would see each other again, just knowing that a promise was made was enough for him. 

Fukunaga finally gets up from the bed and comfortably places himself on the chair that Akaashi was sitting earlier, “I will stay here until dawn. Get some sleep.” He tells Ennoshita.

Ennoshita slowly lays down and moves himself closer to the end of the bed so he can hear Fukunaga, “Okay. I’ll try to get some sleep. You need sleep too.”

Fukunaga nods his head and nuzzles Ennoshita’s head once more before going to sleep. Fukunaga watches the snow leopard man sleep soundly and falls asleep himself. For the first time since this adventure began, both of them felt at peace within their hearts.

When dawn arose from the window Fukunaga wakes up and slowly crawls his way to the window. He opens it quietly and places himself on it, but looks at Ennoshita's sleeping face once more before leaving.

“Thank you for coming to see me again Ennoshita.” He whispers quietly and hops onto the nearest branch again and runs back to the wilderness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing this chapter made me feel better about my characters. Lol! xD


	14. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You remind me a lot like Nico…I think that name suits you.” He says to the kitten. The kitten purrs as an approval for its name, and licks Ennoshita’s hands for a few minutes as he walks back home. He was only a few steps away when the kitten suddenly perks its head up and jumps down from his hands, “Nico where are you going?” Ennoshita panics as he catches up with the kitten. For a kitten, he runs really fast! He thought as the kitten turns around the corner to his house. When Ennoshita finally caught up he looks up to see something that he was not expecting. The kitten was sitting on the front doorway along with another human being. At first he didn’t know who the person was since it was dark, but the moment the person looks up, he sees the familiar cat like eyes stare back at him.

Years have passed since Ennoshita left the mountains of the Himalayas. Life has gotten busy for him. Ennoshita became a film director in a studio in Tokyo. He has won many awards for his movies and short films. He has been shooting movies all over part of Japan and even in the United States. Despite the busy life of movies and travel, Ennoshita never forgot about Fukunaga and Nico. The two were still in his heart as he wears the fang necklace everywhere he went. A few people have questioned him about it, but he never gave them a full answer. It was something that he kept on him at all times. Some people made replicas of it, but Ennoshita didn't mind. Wearing that necklace reminded him of the friends that saved his life years ago and he continues to wear it.

One day, Ennoshita comes back from work and sees a letter on the floor. He picks it up and sees that there was no return address. Suspicious of what it might be, he puts on some gloves and a mask before opening the letter. He has received letters that contained weird items before, so it was better to be safe than sorry. As he opened it, he was relieved to see it was only a paper with no weird substances inside. He takes all of his garb off before proceeding to the living room to read the letter. The letter didn’t contain much, if that, but it was enough for Ennoshita to realize who it was:

_Ennoshita,_

_I am free. I will no longer have to stay in the wilderness anymore. I have protected the animals from all the hunters the past few years and there have been conservative effort that have helped as well. The curse was finally lifted. Nico and I will no longer have to serve the wilderness anymore. I will be in Japan shortly. I am still not accustomed to the outside world yet, but I will understand it soon. I am slowly learning how to read and write in a local school. That’s why there is no return address._ _When I am good enough to do both, I will be able to go to Japan. Nico will be with me as well as a kitten._

_We are looking forward to see you again. Please wait for us._

_Fukunaga_

He pins the letter on his board and quickly takes out an empty notebook that Akaashi bought him a while ago and begins writing. These were going to be letters that he would give to Fukunaga until he comes back.

Days have gone by and one day Ennoshita met up with Akaashi at a local café.

“It’s a good thing that he’s coming back to Japan.” Akaashi asks him as he sips on his latte.

Ennoshita nods his head, “I am glad. He mentioned about a wildlife conservation program in the letter. That has seemed to help him as well.” Ennoshita replies.

"You think he's referring to the one that you organized a few years ago?" Akaashi asks. Ennoshita shrugs,

"He didn't specify, but if that's the case, I am proud that I could help out. The people and the animals over there need the donations more than  do anyway. Thanks for helping out too Akaashi."

"No problem. I am glad I could help as well." Akaashi smiles and looks out the window. It was another cold day in Tokyo. Winter was fast approaching and the bustling streets were filled with life as lights, vehicles, vendors, and people mostly wearing coats and boots. The weather channel recently has predicted an early snow storm system on its way to Tokyo. Akaashi watches the busy life and asks, “I wonder how he will survive this busy world. Do you know a place that will help him?"

Ennoshita beams, “Yes I plan on having him stay with me until he understands how this society functions. I am sure that he will adapt well.”

Akaashi nods his head, “I’m sure he will too. By the way, change of topic, have you thought of a story line that you want to make for your first show series?” he asks. Ennoshita sighs,

“No I haven’t. I have tried reading a few books here and there to get some ideas, but I haven’t found any inspiration to make a series yet.” He answers. The two of them sat in silence in thought while the café plays it soothing music overhead. Suddenly Ennoshita looks up at Akaashi, “Oh my god!”

“What?”

“The series I want to create! It has been in front of my face this entire time! I can’t believe it!”

“What are you talking about?” Akaashi questions. Then it hits him as well, “Ennoshita are you thinking-”

“Yes!” Ennoshita exclaims. The two men grab their notebooks and jot down ideas. They were so into the new idea that they did not realize that the café was closing. After they left the café Akaashi and Ennoshita separate their own ways, making another time to continue with the idea and Ennoshita takes the bus back home where he continued to jot down more ideas while it was still fresh in his mind. He gets off the bus and walks down the street to his house. He was so concentrated on his ideas that he did not see an animal was following him at first.

When he heard loud meows from behind he sees the small grey and black-spotted kitten sitting with its glowing golden eyes. The kitten continues to meow until Ennoshita stops walking and pets the kitten. The kitten purrs and rubs its face and body on his hands. Ennoshita has done this before, but this kitten was different. This kitten reminded of the snow leopard that he met years ago with Fukunaga. Ennoshita puts away his notebook and pen in his messenger bag and picks up the kitten,

“You remind me a lot like Nico…I think that name suits you.” He says to the kitten. The kitten purrs as an approval for its name, and licks Ennoshita’s hands for a few minutes as he walks back home. He was only a few steps away when the kitten suddenly perks its head up and jumps down from his hands, “Nico where are you going?” Ennoshita panics as he catches up with the kitten. _For a kitten, he runs really fast!_ He thought as the kitten turns around the corner to his house. When Ennoshita finally caught up he looks up to see something that he was not expecting. The kitten was sitting on the front doorway along with another human being. At first he didn’t know who the person was since it was dark, but the moment the person looks up, he sees the familiar cat like eyes stare back at him.

Ennoshita smiles when he hears the familiar voice,

“Welcome home Ennoshita.” Fukunaga says as he walks up to him and gives him a nuzzle of the head to Ennoshita's cheek and a hug. Ennoshita embraces him tightly and cries,

“Welcome back home Fukunaga!”

Fukunaga let's go of the other crying man, wipes his tears, this time with his fingers, and places his forehead on Ennoshita's shoulders. Ennoshita hugs him again and whispers,

"I am not leaving you again."

"Me neither." they stand like this for a while till Nico meows and scratches on the house door. Both Fukunaga and Ennoshita laugh as they enter his house with Nico leading the way inside. The three of them were reuntied again and that was the happiest day that they have all experienced in a very long time.

**********

A year has passed and the three have grew closer every day. Ennoshita let Fukunaga audition for his first drama series and gave him the main part since he auditioned very well. To everyone's surprise, the series was hitting the number 1 spot in views and ratings. The show was already nominated for the next TV awards. Ennoshita and Akaashi continue to come up with story lines and films until they have made the ending, but that was much later to come.

Fukunaga slowly learned how to function like a normal human in a bustling city. He began to learn how to surround himself with a group of people. His reading and writing was improving every day. He was still quiet around people, but not as nervous about being surrounded by them than he was a year ago. Nico grew a few centimeters and was thriving as a full-grown cat. He was energetic as every and would always follow Fukunaga around whenever he went out. Nico also became the love-able pet to the film crew and the actors and actresses. Fukunaga and Ennoshita noticed that Nico loved all the attention, but they didn't mind.

At the end of the busy day, the two men would rest together with Nico on the foot of the bed. Sometimes they will talk till it was early morning, other times they will just sleep right away but hold each other closely to sleep. Sometimes Ennoshita had to leave town to attend meetings and events that he had to go. During those days Fukunaga  wrote notes and letters to Ennoshita. Fukunaga may not be a man full of spoken words, but he was full of words when it came to writing:

_Chikara,_

_Thank you for remembering me and Nico after all those years. Thank you for giving us a place to stay and letting us thrive in this busy city. Thank you for letting me take part of your new series and putting me first in these series. Thank you for taking care of Nico and letting him become a healthy cat. Thank you for being such a wonderful human. You have given us experiences that we would've never experienced had we not left the mountains. Thank you for taking care of us. I promise to do the same for you always. Until I can't anymore. Thank you._

_I love you._

_Shouhei_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IT'S COMPLETED!!! YAYYY!!  
> Thank you for being patient and reading this fanfic. I love writing EnoFuku fics.  
> I have a few more lined up that I need to work on, but I figured I work on this first.  
> If you want to give me any helpful tips, please feel free to leave any comments.  
> Thank you for reading again!!!


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